Shadow Green
by PadfootandProngs91
Summary: [Work In Progress] Draco Malfoy has the perfect life. That is, until he meets Nicole Plimt. With romance, death eaters, morning wake up calls, a green light everything Draco knew was never true. Full summary inside
1. Day One: The Ministry Ball

Summary: When Gage Marseille leaves a spell over his castle years before Draco Malfoy's time period, things become more complicated then Draco could've ever imagined. Not only does Draco get himself into and out of trouble many times, he faces the choice of his life time. He can spend the rest of his life with a woman he once believed was his soul mate, or he can follow his heart and fall in love with the woman he's destined to be with. His life depends on a door and green light. What he chooses depends on what he believes.

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_**Disclaimer: Everything in this story you reconize from the popular Harry Potter series belongs to JK Rowling. Everything that doesn't belong to her, surprisingly, belongs to me. **_

_**Author's Note: Before I start this entire story, I want to say that Nicole Plimt in this story is NOT suppose to be the same Nicole Plimt from Life or Death. Though same name and past, she's used in a different way. So Draco and Nicole have NO idea who the other person is until they meet in the third chapter. Other than that, Enjoy!**_

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"Draco!" Pansy Malfoy yelled, banging on the bathroom door.

"What?!" Draco answered, opening the door. He stood there, a towel around his waist.

"We're going to be late! The ball is in an hour and you're not even dressed yet!"

Draco wrapped his arms around his wife's waist, "I'm sure I can be ready soon, Pansy," he mumbled, kissing the tip of her nose.

"But Draco...we can't be late!" Pansy said, taking his arms away from her waist, "And I refuse to be rushing you!"

_'Well,'_ Draco thought, _'that's new to me.'_ Draco sighed as Pansy told him to 'get dressed and hurry'.

It had been about 2 years since Draco Malfoy have graduated Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. In those two years, Draco had managed to marry Pansy Parkinson, become an Auror and be able to keep his father in Azkaban. Tonight, the Ministry was having it's annual 'New Year's Ball'. Draco still couldn't understand how the muggles could be so afraid of 2000. Then again, those wizards could get drunk again and do what they did **last** millennium.

Draco pulled on a pair of black dress pants and a white button up shirt. Staring at himself in the mirror, he debated on slicking his hair back or not. _'It'd be like old times'_ he mused. Before he could decide, Pansy came into the room, wearing a midnight blue dress; with her blonde hair half way up.

She said, as she slipped her shoes on, "Draco, come on, we have to go now,"

Draco looked at her, eye brow raised, "Now? Why now? We could just..."

Pansy sighed as Draco once again wrapped his arms around her waist, "We can't, Draco. If I'm late--"

"Your boss will think less of you. I know, I know" Draco said, disappearing. Pansy followed.

---Ministry of Magic: Ball Room---

"Draco! Draco, over here!" was the first thing Draco heard when he appeared in the ball room at the Ministry.

Putting on a smile, taking Pansy's hand; Draco answered, "Evan, how are you?"

A man with gray hair neared Draco and his wife, a glass of wine in his hand, "Aye, I've seen better days. Evening Mrs. Malfoy"

Pansy smiled at Evan, "Evening to you too Evan," then she turned to Draco, "I'm sorry to leave so soon, but I have to find Mr. Mann..."

"Of course," he said, kissing her cheek before she left.

Evan grinned, "So....you and Pansy doing good?" he said as Draco walked to get a drink.

Draco hated it when people butt into his personal life. To him, none of it concerned anyone but himself and Pansy. "We're fine, Evan,"

"Bloody hell, I've got no idea how you lot can act in love like that. Me and the Mrs. are like cats and dogs"

Draco snorted, taking a drink from his cup, "I'm sure she'd love your comparasion"

Before Evan could respond, there was a loud **bang** from the North entrance to the ball room. Both Evan and Draco's eyes snapped to the door. Screams erupted through out the room and a dozen Auror's darted forward to the large amount of Death Eaters spilling into the room. Draco and Evan pulled out their wands, joining the Aurors.

"Pathetic Aurors you have, Moody," said the leader of the Death Eaters. Moody had took up his old job as Head Auror 3 years ago.

"No more pathetic than you," he spat back, his wand raised.

Without warning, a spell was casted from a Death Eater, and pandemonium broke out. Battles started too. Penn, a short female Auror, was battling four rather large Death Eaters. Evan and Rocher were standing back to back, sending curses at the death eaters circling them. Draco himself was faced with a burly Death Eater. He couldn't see his face, but the voice sound familiar.

"Crucio!" yelled the Death Eater, hitting Draco in the chest. Dropping his wand; Draco felt pain wash over his body. Tears streamed down his face, he nearly bit through his lip trying not to scream.

"Not enough pain for you Malfoy?" the voice said, raising his wand once more. As the Death Eater sent another Crucio spell at him, Draco ducked; the curse soaring over his head.

"Tarantallegeral! Wingardium Leviosa!" Draco said, wand pointed at the Death Eater. The man slowly rose into the air, the spell forcing his body to dance.

"You can do better, Malfoy. Acco!" the Death Eater yelled, Draco flying fast up to him. Draco grabbed the hem of the Death Eater's robes.

"Let me down!" Draco snapped, his hands already slipping against the cotton fabric.

The Death Eater smirked at Draco. Before Draco could fall, the Death Eater disapparated; taking Draco with him.

When the two appeared in a dark, cold dungeon; Draco's hands finally gave away. He felt a sharp pain when his head hit the concrete floor. Blood spilling out of the side of his head, Draco caught glimpse of a tiny green light; spilling in from a crack under the dungeon door. The light created a small glow against the gray stone floor. Draco watched the light, before the pain was too unbearable and he fell unconscious.

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_**Author's Note: Basically thanks for reading. Please review and flames will be shared with other fanfiction/hp friends and laughed at. Adios! **_


	2. Day Two: Bread and Water

**_Disclaimer: Everything in this story you reconize from the popular Harry Potter series belongs to JK Rowling. Everything that doesn't belong to her, surprisingly, belongs to me. _**

**_Author's Note: You made it to chapter two. Be happy everyone, this is a happy moment. I wanted to put little content in the first Author's note and everything. Other than that, Enjoy. _**

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Draco slowly opened his eyes, groaning outloud when he moved slightly. Feeling a painful jolt in his head, he begunto wonder about what exactly happened. Slowly trying to sit up, he felt a shiver go down his back. He nearly fell back down as a door was slammed shut somewhere within the area. Looking around for not only the owner of the slamming door, he took in his surrounds. He was stuck in a typical cell, cement walls all around him and a cold concrete floor under him. Draco attempted to move his hand and felt something slightly sticky under him. Looking down, he swallowed hard the sight of the puddle of almost dry blood.

Footsteps could be heard coming closer and closer to the cell. Draco's head snapped up and he gingerlygot to his feet. Swallowing hard again, he saw a shadow face appear in front of his cell bars.

"Draco, Draco, Draco...how foolish you look" the person said, smirking.

A serge of hatred shot through Draco's eyes as he stared at the death eater before him, "Long time no see, eh Flint?" he said quietly, not being able to talk above a horse whisper.

Marcus Flint, one of Draco's _friends _from Hogwarts, had joined Voldemort out of loyality to his father. Lucius Malfoy was quite close to having Draco in the same position as Flint. The thought of being a Death Eater haunted Draco more than anything.

Marcus smirked, "Smarter than you look, Malfoy" his smirk widened and Draco felt sick to his stomach at the sight of Flint's disgusting teeth, "Hungry, Draco?" Marcus said quietly, edging closer to the bars and snapping his fingers.

A woman with dark brown hair to the middle of her back stepped into place behind Marcus. She looked at Draco with her big brown eyes. The more he watched that look, the more he realized she looked sorry. Sympathy and pity were shining in those eyes. Standing there, a midnight blue robe on, the woman bent down low and handed a platter of bread and water to Marcus.

Marcus paid no head to the look in woman's eyes and took the contents of the platter; slipping the plate through the bars and laying it flat. He still smirked as he put the glass and bread through the bars. The woman shook her head frantically as she watched Draco lean forward to grab Marcus's hands.

Something about the look in the woman's eyes made him stop. Draco stared at her, seeing the trace of a smile on her face.

Marcus stood up, the woman quickly following, and said, "Eat up, Malfoy"

Even opening his eyes felt like he was lifting thousands of pounds. Sighing roughly, Draco shook his head gently, attempting to ward off more uncomforatble sleep. After feeling sick to his stomach,and refusing to eat or drink the things Marcus gave him Draco spent what felt like hours looking for the softest part of the floor. It become quiet clear that to find a soft spot of cement was like looking for a needle in a haystack. Draco ended up sitting with his back against the wall and falling asleep to the though of the beautfiul woman filling his head.

He didn't dare guess what time it was or what day it was. But, like anyone else would, Draco looked up at the small window shining into his cell. A small stream of moon light slipped in. His eyes looking down the wall where the light was. Wincing softly, he finally made out the grime and water covering the could-be wonderfulexquisite gray bricks. Looking away from the nausiationg sight, he stared at the tinted darkness in front of him. As Draco gazed into the darkness, he felt like he was missing something.

Shifting uncomfortably, Draco noticed it.

Looking around he spotted a low green light coming from a door just beyond the metal bars. Crawling on all fours, he went to the light, gripping the bars and staring at it. As he sat there, he thought about everything that went wrong. What was Pansy thinking? Was she crying for him? What about the Aurors? Were they looking for him?

Sighing, Draco slumped down, his eyes leaving the green light. Tears fell down his face as he thought of those sympathtic brown eyes. He thought of his mum too. His wonderful Mum helpless in Spell Damage at St. Mungo's. The tears grew larger and fell faster. A sob escaped his lips as he remembered watching his own father hurt his mother Still watching the green light, Draco thought of all the people killed by wizards like Marcus Flint.

After a while the light faded and then it was gone. The moonlight creating the only light in the cell, Draco took one last look out that window. Watching the stars sparkle, he wiped away his tears and fell into an uneasy sleep.

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**_Author's Note: Thanks to Serena van der Woodsen (hopefully I spelled it right this time. I don't have the website up to look at) who delt with my crazy spelling and extremely bad grammer. Get used to it, Serena. Anyway, thanks for reading and like before...review and flames will be shared with friends/hp writers and laughed at. Adios!_**


	3. Day Three: Feast at Dawn

**_Disclaimer: Draco Malfoy basically belongs to Jo. Everything else belongs to me. _**

**_Author's Note: I know no one has read this yet, but I really want this story to zip by me and be done. So, here, chapter three of Shadow Green._**

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Something shone through Draco's tightly closed eyelids, causing his tired eyes to hurt. Groaning softly, cursing the light, he opened his eyes. He jumped at the face hovering above him with a wand in their hand.

The person smiled wide, leaning back as Draco struggled to sit up. Sighing and shifting so he could look at the person, Draco knew those eyes. Except when he had seen them before, they hadn't smiling like this.

"You're not exactly the hardest to scare, are you?" the brown eyed girl said excitedly, putting the light in her wand out. Draco had yet to hear the girls voice. Draco half expected her to have a high pitch, thick British accent. But hearing her lightweight American accent caused Draco to be momentarily shocked

Draco rubbed his eyes slightly, glancing at the window only to see stars dotting the light gray sky. He frowned and asked, "What time is it?"

"5:30. None of the Death Eaters are up this early," she answered, pushing a platter filled with food in between them. When Draco caught sight of the feast, his stomach growled softly. For some reason, this amused the girl.

"Go ahead. It's for you anyway" she said, picking a few grapes from the bunch.

Draco hesitated if for a second, but when the girl gave him a look that clearly stated something like _"Don't you trust me?",_ he hungrily picked a sandwich up. By his third sandwich, he slowed down. Putting down the sandwich to take a drink from the goblet of pumpkin juice on the platter, Draco watched her.

"Who are you?" he asked.

"Nobody. I suppose if you really want to know, I'm Nicole. Nicole Plimt" she said back, smiling softly at him.

"You didn't have to do this for me"

Nicole shifted, staring at the grapes in her hand and then looking up at Draco, "I know. But...you don't deserve this cell. They do".

Draco frowned even more, and retorted , "Then why are you here? Obviously you don't want to be...right?"

Nicole laughed. The laughed echoed around the room faintly and made Draco shiver softly, "Where I want to be, and where they want me to be are two completely different things, " she paused, putting a grape in her mouth, "I'm not like you. I can't stand up to my father like you did. I gave in"

Draco's eyes widen and he scrambled up, "You're a Death Eater then?" he choked out, his voice cracking. He backed away slightly, his back hitting the cell bars. Draco gripped the medal with his fists, squeezing hard.

Nicole sighed, the smile in her eyes gone, "I'm not a Death Eater. They don't want me to be one. The others have more fun having me be something like their slave" she uttered quietly and looked up at him, "It's not me you should be afraid of"

Draco stood their, relaxing slowly. Releasing the bars, he slid back down. Draco stared at her and whispered, "Nicole, I'm sorry..."

Nicole smiled, "Eat. I'll see you again tomorrow" She put the half eaten sandwich in his hands and added small piece of parchment on top of it. Nicole stood, carrying the platter to the far corner of the cell. Taking out her wand, she tapped a cement brick and it slid up.

Putting the goblet of pumpkin juice inside the small platform the stone had uncovered, she winked at Draco with a smile. Tapping the brick above the cubby, Nicole slipped out the cell door as the stone slid down. Draco, eyebrows raised, watch Nicole until she disappeared.

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Sighing, Draco laid on his back while staring at the dark, starry night. Smiling softly, thinking of the meal he shared with Nicole, Draco figured this place wasn't completely bad. _But, _he thought, _she shouldn't be here. She doesn't belong. _

Turning his attention at the window, he saw two blue eyes and a big smile.

"Draco! How pleasant it is to see you. How's the family?"

Draco, who had believed he was seeing things, yelped and gaped at the man in front of his window.

"Bloody hell, Draco. If Pansy was here, what would she say?"

Draco paused, and slowly grinning, "Close your mouth, no one likes to eat flies" he mumbled.

The man grinned wider, "Aye, that's a good boy. Now come on, you can't exactly stay down there, can you?" the man carefully tapped the medal bars against the window and pulled them off smoothly

Draco stood up, reaching up to grab the side of the empty frame but stopped. Staring at the man, he shook his head, "I can't Evan. I'm not done here"

Evan looked perplexed, "What do you mean not done? You want to be in this hell hole!"

"Don't you see, Evan...everything we've always wished we could find out is here. This is our

chance, Evan. I can't just give it up like that"

Evan sighed, watching Draco, "Even if you could find out something, how? If the Death Eaters tell you something, they'll kill you"

Draco grinned, "Death Eaters aren't my source, Evan. There's a girl here--"

"You're married, Malfoy"

Draco scowled, "I know that, Evan. But she is forced to work with them. But she's not one of them. She can help us. She can help me"

Evan shook his head, "I don't like this idea, Malfoy"

Draco shrugged, smiling, "Tough, because I do"

Once again, Draco was all alone with the moon as his only light. But unlike before, he wasn't the least bit tired. He paced his cell, wondering exactly what Nicole could tell him. Sighing, he sat down against the wall, thinking of the people who died in the cell because of Death Eaters.

Death Eaters he could've stopped.

Looking around, he saw the green light under the door flickering and then the door opened. A shadow of a person stepped through the small opening and quickly closed the door behind them. They took a deep breath, and disappeared off towards the end of the hall leaving Draco bewildered.

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**_Author's Note: Before I thank you for reading, the song originally put at the beginning of this song ment something. If you really care about it, it's 'The Road I'm On' by 3 Doors Down. The concept of Draco and Nicole both growing and being from a horrible pureblood family is shone sort by that song. When they mention reading between the lines, it's like Draco should've read between the lines before thinking she was in anyway a death eater._**

**_Anyway, thanks for reading. Thank you Serena for betaing, you rock. And like I said before, flames will be shared with and laughed at by me/other fanfiction writers/friends. Review! _**


	4. Day Four: War at Sixteen

**_Disclaimer: Draco Malfoy, Narcissa Malfoy, and Lucius Malfoy belong to JK Rowling. I own Nicole Plimt. No money is made from this, so please don't sue me or anything. I didn't do it, Snape did._**

**_Author's Note: Thanks for waiting a few weeks. I swear, the people that read my other stories are so going to yell at me. Anyway, I give you Day Four: War at Sixteen._**

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_Bloody hell_, thought Draco as he felt heat against his eyelids once again. _This is getting old._ Referring to blinding white light against his eyes.

"I can leave if you want me to. I can take the food with me and let you sleep" said a distant voice from his right. Snapping his eyes open and sitting up, he saw Nicole sitting cross-legged on the floor with her hair in front of her eyes as she slid the platter towards him.

Draco smiled, "Thanks" he grabbed a sandwich and was inches from taking a bite when he saw something on Nicole's cheek. Laying the sandwich back onto the platter, Draco raised an eyebrow at her.

"What's on your cheek?" he asked, leaning forward and brushing the hair away from her face.

"I-It's nothing, really. I just...fell" Nicole whispered, watching Draco wipe blood away from the deep cut she had.

"Fell...right..." He barely listened to her, looking at the blood he had taken from her cut and wishing more than ever he could get both of them out of there. He had always wished to be the hero when he was younger, so was this his chance? Could he possibly get Nicole out of this place for good? Maybe.

The two sat in silence, Draco gingerly taking small bites from the sandwich. Nicole sat with her back to the bars, her knees to her chest and her chin resting on their tops. After all but 10 minutes, feeling like hours, Draco finally spoke.

"You said you couldn't be like me, right?"

Nicole shifted slightly and nodded, "I can't"

Draco laughed, "I had a reason to do what I did. And it's not like it came free.."

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_"Bloody house elf! Go!" 16 year old Draco Malfoy shouted out Ellia, his personal house elf. As the elf scampered off, Draco got up to find his mother somewhere in the cold manor. _

_Draco had always been closest to his mother. When he thought of his father, he thought of the Death Eater dinners and The Training. But with his mother, it had always just been him. Draco and Narcissa._

_To anyone else, the cold stone floor against your feet would annoy you, but the Draco it was normal. He had always thought everyone lived in a house like his. All his life up to now, his parents had been distant. Almost as thought they_ _were merely brought together by Draco himself. _

_Opening the drawing room door to_ _retri_e_ve the cloak he had left there, Draco stopped when he heard a noise from under him. Knowing fully well that the Malfoy's dungeon was down there and that Lucius Malfoy kept various people locked up, Draco picked up the cloak without a second thought._

_Then a noise came again, a whimpering and a sob all in one. Stopping short, Draco spun around towards the rug; where the opening was hidden. Kneeling down, he pushed back the rug and opened the round door. Draco lowered himself into the hole, not even thinking of the fact that doing this would get him into more trouble with his father than he wanted._

_Quietly, he inched forward towards the heavy breathing from a door propped. Once he heard his father's angry voice, he was quite certain he should run back and forget about the voice. But being 16, Draco's pride and ego overpowered his thoughts. Daring to peek into the room, he felt a gasp come to his throat but kept it back._

_Sitting limp against the wall was Narcissa Malfoy, a large gash across her face and blood mingled into her silver blonde hair. Draco watched as his father whispered something into Narcissa's ear. As he stood there as minutes passed, Draco saw more cruelty to anyone than he had ever seen before. As the minutes wore on with him spying, his eyes grew cold. His jaw tightened. _

_Just hearing Narcissa plead his father sent Draco over the edge. He ran. Ran up the stairs to the drawing room, down the freezing cold hallways and into his room. Sitting on the bed, he cried. Not even his ego could stop him from doing so. He had wished when he was little that his mother could get him something to hold onto when he needed someone. But now, it was different. Suddenly, the house seemed too cold to bare. Getting out of the bed, Draco stood in front of a mirror. Staring at his red eyes and nose made Draco seem to young. Staring into the mirror, he vowed that he'd be there for his mother, no matter what could happen._

_"It's war" he whispered_ _fiercely._

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Draco lay with his head on the hard floor, hands behind his head and staring up at the night sky. He didn't know why he had told Nicole what his father had done. Not even Pansy knew exactly what happened. But unlike with Pansy, it felt like Nicole knew what he meant.

What he felt.

Sighing softly, he racked his brain for something he could use to send himself to sleep. As he imagined being in his bed back home in England, a glow of green shot out from the door and hit the wall next to him. Smiling softly, he glanced over at the door. After the four days he had been there, he had forgotten each time to ask Nicole actually who the green light belonged to.

Or why it was there.

Looking back up at the sky, Draco found himself so lost in thoughts about Nicole, he had barely noticed a faint scream from behind the door.

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**_Author's Note: Thanks for reading. Thanks to Serena for betaing and thanks to those who review. You guys are the reason for me writing this and you keep me going. Please review, and remember….flames will be shared with others! Yeah, you guys know the drill right?_**


	5. Day Five and Six: Marseille Bloodlines

**_Disclaimer: Draco Malfoy and Marcus Flint belong to J.K. Rowling. Nicole Plimt, Draco Malfoy, Gage and Jimmy Marseille all belong to me. No money is being made of any of this story and money will never be made from it._**

**_Author's Note: Really, all I want to say right here is that I have Day Five and Six together because if I just when for each chapter as a day, Day Five would be short. So I put 'em together. Enjoy._**

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**Day Five**

Draco lay there with his eyes shut on fifth day of being in the wretched and revolting cell. Hoping with all his might that the blinding but familiar gleam would shine through his eye lids, the disappointment of seeing nothing struck Draco hard. This had been the first day after officially meeting Nicole where she had not made some dramatic entrance. Or even an entrance in the first place.

Standing up with uncertainty, Draco felt the heat from the rare winter sun against his arms. Guessing that it was near 9 o'clock in the morning, Draco was quite sure many of the Death Eaters were already up by now. But where was Nicole?

Trying to put any brutal thoughtsof what happened may have to her out of his head; he made his way over to the brick wall Nicole that had put food into both days before. Just as Draco went to get the stone cubby to open, a door opened and slammed roughly from the end of his hall. Jumping slightly, Draco quickly departed from the stone and sat against the cell's back wall.

To say Marcus Flint was angry would be an understatement. He stopped in front of Draco's cell, with a boy not more than 18 at his heels. Once Flint caught sight of Draco, his eyes hardened even more.

Then he turned to the boy next to him and barked at him, "Open it!"

Scrambling to do what Marcus asked, the boy used his wand to open the metal lock. Pulling back the bars enough so Marcus could get in, the boy once again placed himself behind his superior.

"You think you're really cunning, don't you Malfoy?" Marcus hissed, taking a few steps forward. His shadow looked at the cell door, more than tempted to close it but his fear over through his courage and he too stepped forward with Marcus.

"I have no I idea what you're talking about. Maybe it's you that not as cunning as you think," Draco said calmly, while keeping the young boy in his vision range.

Marcus scowled, bending down to Draco's eye level, "You know bloody well what I talking about"

"Sir, maybe he doesn't know about her. Maybe she lied," the boy said quickly, taking a few steps back before saying anything.

Marcus shut his eyes, and took a deep breath, "Marseille, shut it!" he barked, looking back towards the boy.

Draco sat up straighter, staring at Marcus as he turned back towards Draco, "Who's she?"

Marcus rolled his eyes, stood up and stared down at Draco, "You know who she is. And trust me Malfoy, if you tell her anything...This cell will more of a resting place for you than anything else"

As Marcus left the cell, Draco watched Marseille close the cell door. But the look in his eyes gave Draco some glimpse of hope. Draco and Nicole weren't the only ones that disliked Marcus Flint.

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**Day Six**

The next morning, Draco once again hoped to find those big brown eyes staring at him with a smile etched into them. But once again, as he opened his eyes no one was in sight. Sighing roughly, Draco simply believe he was dreaming. There was no way Nicole really wouldn't show up. Nicole would have come if she could've. Why wouldn't she be able?

Draco had always believed dramatically slamming a door had always marked one's mood as they walked in. By hearing the slam, Draco seemed to be more afraid of the person coming in than anything else.

Draco wasn't the kind of person to gain fear of something he couldn't see. But this time was different. As the door slammed shut and foot steps came from the end of the hall, Draco couldn't have a bit of fear in himself. The pride that was taken away from him when fear was present was something Draco could not and wouldn't allow.

He quickly stood up, grabbing onto the bars and he watched Marcus once again stalk his way towards Draco's cell. Someone followed steps behind him with a tray of food in their hands. Although Draco couldn't make out their face because of the hood over their head, he could guess who it was.

_Probably Marseille again, poor bloke, _thought Draco, feeling the fear in his stomach more pronounced than anything.

"Morning Malfoy. You, give it to him" Marcus barked, nodding to the person.

As they bent down and took of the bread and water from the platter, their hood started to fall down. Though the person had no idea of what was happening to their hood, Draco noticed the start of brown hair. Marseille had blonde hair.

Once the person slipped the platter and food through the cell bars, the hood finally gave away as they stood. It wasn't Marseille. It was woman, who had dry tear marks on her fact, bruises all over and a her face was the color of a pearl. She took a few steps back, and the glow of light from other empty cells made her skin look even paler than it had. But her brown eyes still seemed normal. Full of hate and emptiness.

Draco gripped the bars tight, his fear vanishing from him. But anger towards Marcus replaced it. Although afterwards he thought many times about what he could've done, he did nothing at the time. He watched Nicole and Marcus leave the cell quarters.

Picking up the platter, he threw it, causing water to spill everywhere and the platter to crash to the floor.

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Even in his mad rage, Draco couldn't deny that by evening, he was starved. When he thought about it, he was hungry when Marcus and Nicole came as well. Maybe he should've saved that bread, not let it get soggy in the water. Sighing, he closed his eyes and leaned his head against the wall. His stomach gave a painful jolt, begging it's holder to fill it.

"We can't eat. We're stuck till morning" Draco mumbled to himself.

"You know, most people are considered crazy when they start to talk to themselves. Expecially those who talk to their stomachs" said a voice from near the front of the cell.

Draco's eyes snapped open, and he saw Nicole through the bars. She looked a bit better, like she had slept for a while. But just seeing her made a smile come across his face. He stood up, made his way over towards the bars.

"That's me then" he uttered.

She smile softly, but looked towards the ground for a second, "Look Draco...um...I'm sorry about the last to days. I wanted to come, I did...but they uh...they wouldn't let me. If it's any comfort I guess, I was over there the entire time" she said quickly, nodding towards the door across the cell. The door with the green light.

Draco nodded, "I suppose that's a bit better..." he said quietly, counting the bruises on her face.

_Two...Three...Four..._

"Yeah so uh...I should probably um..." Nicole started to turn as she said this but Draco reached out of the cell and grabbed her arm to stop her. She winced slightly but turned back towards him.

"That door you were behind. It always has a green light there. What is it?" Draco asked.

Nicole straightened a bit, frowning, "It has a green light? You're not kidding, right?"

"No, why?"

"In 1818, this guy named Gage Marseille--"

"That boy. His name was Marseille" Draco said quickly, cutting Nicole off.

"Jimmy? He's technically in charge of this place. He's the great great-great-great-grandson of Gage Marseille. But he doesn't have any power over this place. I mean, Marcus isn't exactly the easiest to stand up to. For people like him and me. Anyway, Gage Marseille owned this place. It was his castle, no one else's. Gage had fallen in love with this woman, Nora. He had believed she was his soulmate. But like any beginning to a fairy tale, Nora didn't want anything to do with Gage and believe him to be lying. So to prove he was right, he created this spell. If casted upon any room or rooms, the spell would show the seeker of their true love which room their love was in. It uh..." Nicole paused for a second, glanced back towards the door and sighed, "It would show where the true love was by...by letting off a light. A green light"

She paused once more, letting those words soak in and then started up once more, "Gage had asked Nora to stand behind on the doors. Thinking that everything would simply be just a joke, she did as she was asked. He found her behind the door with the green light and she believed him. It was said that he uh...he never took the curse off the castle. And that it doesn't matter weather you seek your true love or not, it'll always glow just for...for you"

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Draco lay still that night, thinking about each word Nicole had told him. Before he had came to the Marseille Castle, he hadn't believed in anything like soulmates, something he always thought to only be in fairy tales. He figured because of his life being nothing like those fairy tales his mum had read to him, he didn't have a soulmate. He was too different to have one.

But now, the story. Things were different. Draco couldn't imagine the life he had before. Sure, it was quite good, but was it what he wanted? According to Marseille's old curse, he was on completely the wrong path. Now it seemed to late to change courses.

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**_Author's Note: Just want to say big, huge thanks to Serena, you got rid of my...extremely bad spelling. Gosh, I'd hate to be you sometimes. Anyway, everyone else thanks for reading...and review please._**


	6. Day Seven: She Stayed

**Disclaimer:**** Everything you recognize from JK Rowling's books, belongs to her. Not trying to get money out of this, just having a little fun. Enjoy!**

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**Day Seven: She Stayed**

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Although he knew Nicole was okay the last time he saw her, the knowledge that she may not be okay the next morning was agonizing to Draco. It was quite hard to believe after knowing the woman for less then a week, he already felt more responsible for _her_ well being then his own. Draco didn't know if it was the spell on the manor that caused him to feel this way, but comfort washed over him when he had some one to worry about.

Apparently Pansy no longer possessed that "damsel in distress" feature that Draco desired.

On his seventh morning in the putrid cell, the dread baring down on him about Nicole felt much heavier then normal. He knew that when he opened his eyes, he would be all alone in the cell with nothing more than the January sun shining down on him and the few remains of yesterday's meal he had thrown at the wall in rage. The former nor the latter seems to appeal to Draco. In the midst of contemplating whether he should even open his eyes, he heard a soft but impatient sound from his left.

In Draco's experience, hearing a sound in complete silence makes the noise seem guilty of something. Although, how a simple noise could cause mayhem never made much sense to Draco. But simply hearing the noise in the first place threw him too off track to logically figure out what trouble the sound originally caused

Finally, he opened his eyes. Figuring the person watching him had the patience to wait as long as they did, a few extra seconds wouldn't hurt. Draco hesitantly sat up, turning himself even more slowly then he normally would.

"You're determined to annoy me to pieces, aren't you?" an amused voice drifted towards Draco, causes him to sharply look up.

This time the unexpected noise made the dread in Draco's stomach settle slightly. Knowing Nicole was safe for the time being, he edged his way over to the bars, where she had placed the platter once again through the bars.

"I like to think it's a trait to be proud of" Draco said with a grin plastered on his face. Now that food was available, his brain seemed to ignoring anything but the tray heaping with it.

But Draco, being the outstanding Auror he was, couldn't help but notice Nicole's lack in conversation. Although she rarely talked while Draco wolfed down the food she provided, she was sitting too stiffly for Draco to ignore.

Reluctantly setting the half eaten sandwich down, Draco pushed the platter away and got as close to the bars as he could. His pale hands were wrapped around two of them.

Draco leaned forward to look down the hall then whispered urgently, "If there was anything wrong, you'd tell me right?"

Nicole sighed, pulling her knees to her chest, "Yeah, of course"

Draco relaxed slightly, but once again his instinct didn't easily believe Nicole. Gripping the bars tighter, he murmured once more, "Is there anything wrong right now?"

Nicole was silent but once she looked up at him, tears were evident in those eyes. Whatever had happened or would happened was something Draco was sure he didn't want to know. But wanting and needing something were two different things in Draco's life.

"You can tell me..." Draco whispered, leaning forward once more.

It seemed no matter what Draco tried, Nicole wasn't going to budge. Most people would have given up in Draco situation, but giving up wasn't the Malfoy Way. So Draco reach an arm through the bars and took on of her hands gently.

Nicole sighed, biting her lip, "If I tell you, you won't tell anyone else,"

Draco smiled softly, nodding reluctantly, "I won't tell a soul, I swear on my life."

Pausing once more, Nicole stared down at Draco's hand. As his stomach growled furiously, Draco felt Nicole squeeze his hand then pull away. She interlocked her fingers and set them in her lap as she turned to Draco.

Finally looking up, she looked more determined then ever, "You've got to get out of here"

Draco arched an eyebrow, as if to ask if that was it. When Nicole didn't say anything, he sighed in relief, "I know. We both do."

Nicole shook her head, setting her jaw tight, "No Draco, I meant out now. You don't have enough time to waste saving me" her face softened a bit, "They're not going to keep you here for much longer. They can't keep you like they did me"

Draco blinked hard, looking at the floor, "You have to come," his eyes shot up at her, "You have to, Nicole"

"I have nothing to go back to, Draco. You have a life to live," Nicole sighed, "When I came here, my sister and my parents...they hated me for it. It's not like I came on purpose, but they'd never believe it. This is all I have" Her eyes were glassy again and she had a shaky voice as she leaned forward and added, "I can get you out"

* * *

The entire time Nicole had been with him that morning, Draco hadn't taken a bite of anything. At the time he was too wrapped up in plan, he had completely forgotten about the original reason she was there. _Great_ he thought, _Another night with nothing to eat_

But the part in his mind that hadn't accepted leaving Nicole tonight came forward, _But another breakfast with Pansy._

Draco closed his eyes, quite tempted to actually hurt himself so badly against the stone wall that Nicole couldn't even drag him out. But no, he couldn't do that. For the pain would be extremely overwhelming not to mention the fact that Nicole would have to see him in pain. If Draco couldn't stand her in pain, how could she stand it for him?

"Hey" a voice hissed into Draco's musing. His eyes snapped open and he felt a frown come on his face. Normally he'd smile when seeing Nicole but no one could blame him for no**t** doing so this time.

Nicole fiddled with her pockets for a second, trying to maneuver a wand that looked nothing like her's out of her sleeve. After doing so, she got to lock on the cell open. By Nicole pace as well as expression, she couldn't stand doing this either. Nicole swung back the door and gave Draco and expectant look.

"Come with me" he said, knowing what her answer would be.

Nicole simply shook her head and whispered, "Don't"

Malfoy sighed roughly and stood up, "That's not going to work," he added as he followed her quietly out of the cell and down a pitch black corridor. The only light came from a small pinpoint of light from the wand.

Nicole snorted softly, "Yeah right. You just feel like an midnight snack, then?" A silent but austere scowl was sent her way.

Eventually they too came to a rotunda that had many doors in all directions of the room. In the middle of the room was a desk with a chair hugging the cubby made for it. On the opposite side of the desk were two comfortable looking chairs with an extremely unpleasant looking red stain streaking the back of one.

Flinching softly, Draco quickly followed Nicole to a door to the left of the front. She took out the wand once more and pressed it into a gel panel next to it. The wand disappeared for a second then a deep male voice echoed in the room.

"Flint, Marcus J., Holly and Yew, Dragon Heartstring, 14 3/4 inches. Access Granted,"

Draco smirked, "You stole Flint's wand too? Merlin, I love you,"

Nicole's head whipped around and a mixture of fear and question filled her eyes.

"Uh...I mean...a platonic love. Yeah...platonic," Draco quickly added once seeing Nicole's face. But truly, he didn't really believe himself. Maybe he did love her.

"Good," she whispered, voice wavering, picking up the wand that had fallen out of the gel scanner and then pushed open the door. Draco gasped at what he saw.

With windows similar to those in a muggle basement, on the walls were painted pictures of past Marseille's showing not only their bloodline but also their achievements around them, good or bad. Stepping in, the effect of each painting was quite similar to that of the Mona Lisa, residing in muggle Paris. Gage himself stood beside a woman who Draco only could guess to be Nora. Behind them was a green glowing light which Draco was sure was painted to represent the curse on the manor.

Nicole was smiling, "This is only few rooms none of the death eaters actually go in. It used to have mounds of jewels and gold...but they emptied it out. There isn't a purpose to come in here for them, " she faded out and looked over at him, "It's an easy place to hide from everything, " Although Draco heard her, a part of him felt as though he was missing something she was trying to tell him.

Draco smiled nonetheless. Although they both knew the smile was fake, they pretended it was another morning. That Nicole was just leaving with the empty platter. But this time, she wouldn't be back in the morning.

"So, " he said, turning towards her awkwardly, "I'll see you later?" he added hopefulness to his voice, giving it one last shot.

Nicole shook her head, "No. See you later means tomorrow or the next day. Goodbye means forever," she sighed and rubbed her forehead, "Go home, put some death eaters in Azkaban, try to stop You-Know-Who and maybe have one or two little Malfoys. Don't worry about me,"

Draco watched Nicole take out the wand and wave one of the few windows open. She then interlocked her fingers and nodded at him roughly. Draco sighed and gingerly placed his foot on her hand. Surprising him, she lifted him up and out of the window with much ease.

"Nic-" Draco started to say, just she quickly closed the window. Once he heard the a door faintly shut, his body slumped.

The pit of his stomach told him things wouldn't get any better.

* * *

Things became worse.

After hours of wondering, somehow Draco ended up in his drive. As he looked from the house to his ring, he wondered if what he was doing was right.

_It's an easy place to hide from everything_ he thought to himself.

After his arrived to the house, it was not what Draco expected. The only thing he had anticipated was Pansy there, worried about him. But when he walked in almost every auror he had ever worked with showed up to comfort Pansy and promise to find Draco. Once Draco showed up, there was much fuss made and it was till long that he was able to tell his story. Leaving out small details such as the green light and the way he saw it for Nicole, Draco could see the relief never leaving Pansy's face.

_She really does love me then, _Draco thought to himself as he went on.

Everyone in the room awed and flinched at the right times, it seemed to Draco that their reactions were planned. In fact, he felt so numb since he left the Marseille Manor, that he could probably brake any bone in his body and never feel a thing.

Finishing the story made it all true to Draco. He had told himself it would be hard to tell it, but the fact that it came so easily deeply disturbed Draco.

"Where is she then? Outside?" Pansy asked, genuinely interested.

"She's stayed,"

Those two words echoed in Draco's head.

**_She stayed._**

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**Note****_ Thank you for reading, and thank you to Serena giving me an idea how to finish this and making sure I knew where the Mona Lisa was really located. Review if you have something to say and look out for the last few chapters. We're getting close to finish._**

**-Jackie**


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